Childhood blood immune gene patterns across regions
Development and application of pediatric-specific blood transcriptional modules across diverse geographical settings through public data mining
The team is creating child-specific sets of blood genes that describe immune activity in children from many countries to help researchers better understand childhood infections and immune conditions.
Quick facts
| Grant type | R21 grant |
|---|---|
| Study type | NIH-funded research |
| Funding institution | Cincinnati Childrens Hosp Med Ctr NIH-funded |
| Lab location | 1 site (Cincinnati, United States) |
| Project ID | NIH-11291865 on NIH RePORTER |
What this research studies
This project will use thousands of existing blood gene datasets from children aged birth to 12 years to build pediatric-specific blood transcriptional modules—groups of genes that change together when the immune system responds. By mining public data from 76 studies and over 13,000 samples collected across diverse geographic settings, the team aims to capture immune patterns that current adult-based tools miss. They will add pediatric single-cell data to improve biological detail and test the modules across different conditions and regions. These pediatric modules are intended to be a shared resource for researchers working on vaccines and treatments for infections and immune-related conditions in children.
Who could benefit from this research
Good fit: Children from newborns up to 12 years of age, especially those from underrepresented regions or with infections or immune-related conditions, are most relevant to this work.
Not a fit: Adults and older teenagers outside the 0–12 age range are unlikely to directly benefit from these pediatric-specific gene modules.
Why it matters
Potential benefit: If successful, this resource could help researchers design better vaccines and treatments tailored to children's immune systems and reduce infections and immune diseases in childhood.
How similar studies have performed: Adult-derived blood transcriptional modules have been useful in research, but pediatric-specific modules are largely novel and untested at this large scale.
Where this research is happening
Cincinnati, United States
- Cincinnati Childrens Hosp Med Ctr — Cincinnati, United States (Active)
Researchers
- Principal investigator: Hagan, Thomas Lafayette — Cincinnati Childrens Hosp Med Ctr
- Study coordinator: Hagan, Thomas Lafayette
About this research
- This is an active NIH-funded research project — typically early-stage science, not a clinical trial accepting patient enrollment.
- Some NIH-funded labs run parallel clinical studies or seek volunteers for related work. To check, contact the principal investigator or institution listed above.
- For full project details, budget, and progress reports, visit the official NIH RePORTER page below.